There's more to the Easter story than just chocolate eggs and bunnies. If your kids are starting to ask about the true meaning of Easter, here’s all they need to know about the most important festival in the Christian calendar.

The Easter festival culminates in the celebration that is Easter Sunday. This is a time when most of us get together with our families for a meal … and usually includes an Easter egg hunt for the kids.

But the significance of Easter Sunday - and Holy Week which leads up to this date - might not be something your children know much about.

Not only that, they might have questions about where the tradition for Easter eggs - and the Easter bunny - comes from. We’ve got all the answers you need ...

What is Easter?

The Easter story lies at the heart of Christianity.

Holy Week, which starts on Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Sunday, is a time when Christians celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, three days after he was executed.

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday - which is known as Holy Thursday in other countries - is a day when Christians remember the Last Supper. This was Jesus’ last meal with the apostles before he was crucified.

It was on this night that Jesus was later betrayed by Judas, who identified Jesus to soldiers working for opposing religious authorities (the 'High Priests') in return for money. Those authorities then passed Jesus over to the Roman soldiers who were to eventually execute him.

The ceremony of eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of Jesus' life is practised today in Christian churches in the form of the Eucharist or communion.

Good Friday

Good Friday is one of the most important dates in the Christian calendar, commemorating the day Jesus was crucified.

As Good Friday is seen as a day of mourning, services are very solemn; churches are left unadorned with flowers or decorations, and in some churches pictures and statues are covered over.

Holy Saturday

The Easter vigil service takes place on the night of Holy Saturday.

The idea behind the service is that people will wait in hope that Christ will return at midnight. The Easter, or Paschal, candle is lit during this service.

Easter Sunday

This is the culmination of Holy Week and is a day of huge celebration in the Christian calendar. It commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ making it the most important Christian festival.

After Jesus was crucified his body was buried in cave with a huge stone put over the entrance. Yet the following Sunday, the stone had been moved and the tomb was empty. Jesus was then seen that day - and for days afterwards.

As such, his followers celebrated the fact he had been raised from the dead. Today, churches are filled with flowers to mark the celebration and there are special hymns and songs.

The origins of Easter traditions

Most popular Easter traditions have their roots far back in history. Here are some interesting facts about the popular symbols and activities associated with Easter ...

The Easter Bunny
Rabbits are an ancient symbol of fertility and new life. Yet how they became such a symbol of Easter is not entirely clear.

There are lots of theories on where the Easter bunny came from. One is that in Germany, they used to bury painted eggs for treasure hunts.

Because hares were often seen at this time of year, it was said the hares hid the eggs for the children to find.

Whatever its origin, the Easter bunny plays a huge part in our celebrations today.

Chocolate Easter eggs
Eggs have long been seen as an important fertility symbol, associated with new life.

From a Christian perspective, Easter eggs are said to represent Jesus’ emergence from the tomb and his resurrection.

The exact reason for decorating eggs is not known, but one theory is that eating eggs is not allowed during Lent. As such, people would decorate them to eat at Easter as a celebration.

The first chocolate eggs began to appear in the early 1800s.

Egg rolling
The tradition of egg rolling on Easter Monday isn’t thought to have a religious meaning. Yet some think it’s a symbolic re-enactment of the rolling away of the stone from Christ’s tomb.

The most famous egg rolling event is at the White House where children push decorated hard boiled eggs across the lawn.

Hot cross buns
It’s traditional to eat hot cross buns on Good Friday. The pastry cross on top of the buns symbolises the cross that Jesus was killed on.

Simnel cake
The special fruit cake eaten at Easter, known as Simnel cake, is steeped in traditional symbolism.

Traditionally the cake has a layer of marzipan on top and is decorated with marzipan balls - these symbolise the apostles, though Judas is left out and only 11 balls are added to the cake.